An amplifier includes a package that includes a carrier amplifier having a carrier amplifier input and output, a peaking amplifier having a peaking amplifier input and output, and corresponding input and output leads. The package includes a first integrated passive device including a first capacitor structure. The first integrated passive device includes a first contact pad coupled to the peaking amplifier output and a second contact pad coupled to the peaking output lead. The package includes a second integrated passive device including a second capacitor structure. The second integrated passive device includes a third contact pad coupled to the carrier amplifier output and a fourth contact pad coupled to the carrier output lead. The amplifier includes input circuitry a combining node configured to combine a carrier output signal and a peaking output signal.
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2. The Doherty power amplifier of claim 1, wherein the output of the Doherty amplifier includes a 50 ohm transmission line and a radio frequency connector.
A Doherty power amplifier is a type of high-efficiency amplifier used in radio frequency (RF) applications to improve power efficiency, particularly in wireless communication systems. The amplifier addresses the challenge of maintaining high efficiency across varying power levels, which is critical for reducing energy consumption and heat generation in RF transmitters. The Doherty amplifier includes a main amplifier and an auxiliary amplifier, where the auxiliary amplifier dynamically adjusts its load impedance to enhance efficiency. The output of the amplifier is designed to interface with external systems, featuring a 50-ohm transmission line and a radio frequency (RF) connector. The 50-ohm transmission line ensures impedance matching, minimizing signal reflections and maximizing power transfer efficiency. The RF connector provides a standardized interface for connecting the amplifier to antennas or other RF components, ensuring compatibility and ease of integration into larger systems. This configuration allows the Doherty amplifier to efficiently amplify signals while maintaining signal integrity and compatibility with standard RF equipment. The combination of the transmission line and RF connector ensures reliable performance in real-world applications, such as base stations and wireless transmitters.
3. The Doherty power amplifier of claim 1, wherein the first capacitor structure includes a plurality of capacitors formed in the first integrated passive device and each capacitor in the plurality of capacitors is a metal-insulator-metal capacitor.
A Doherty power amplifier system addresses the challenge of improving efficiency and linearity in radio frequency (RF) power amplification, particularly for high-power applications. The system includes an integrated passive device (IPD) that incorporates multiple capacitors, specifically metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitors, to enhance performance. These MIM capacitors are part of a first capacitor structure within the IPD, providing precise control over impedance matching and signal conditioning. The use of MIM capacitors ensures high reliability, low parasitic effects, and consistent performance across varying operating conditions. The amplifier leverages a Doherty architecture, which combines a main amplifier path and an auxiliary amplifier path to dynamically adjust power output, improving efficiency at different power levels. The IPD integrates passive components, including the MIM capacitors, to minimize signal loss and optimize space utilization. This design enhances the amplifier's ability to handle high-frequency signals while maintaining linearity and efficiency, making it suitable for modern wireless communication systems. The integration of MIM capacitors in the IPD ensures robust performance and scalability for advanced RF applications.
4. The Doherty power amplifier of claim 3, wherein a capacitance of the first capacitor structure is between 3 picofarads and 4 picofarads and a capacitance of each capacitor in the plurality of capacitors is between 10 picofarads and 30 picofarads.
A Doherty power amplifier is a type of high-efficiency power amplifier used in wireless communication systems to improve efficiency and linearity, particularly for signals with varying envelope amplitudes. Traditional power amplifiers suffer from inefficiency when handling such signals, leading to wasted power and reduced performance. The Doherty architecture addresses this by using a main amplifier and an auxiliary amplifier, which dynamically adjust their contributions to the output signal based on input power levels, enhancing overall efficiency. This invention relates to a Doherty power amplifier with specific capacitor structures to optimize performance. The amplifier includes a first capacitor structure connected to the main amplifier and a plurality of capacitors connected to the auxiliary amplifier. The first capacitor structure has a capacitance between 3 picofarads and 4 picofarads, while each capacitor in the plurality has a capacitance between 10 picofarads and 30 picofarads. These capacitance values are selected to ensure proper impedance matching, signal integrity, and efficient power transfer between the amplifiers and the load, such as an antenna. The precise capacitance ranges help maintain stability, reduce signal distortion, and improve the amplifier's efficiency across different power levels. This design is particularly useful in modern wireless systems where high efficiency and linearity are critical for meeting regulatory and performance standards.
5. The Doherty power amplifier of claim 1, wherein the second integrated passive device includes a third capacitor structure and the third capacitor structure is coupled between a first node of the second capacitor structure and a first ground potential node.
A Doherty power amplifier system includes a main amplifier and a peaking amplifier, each with integrated passive devices for impedance matching and harmonic control. The peaking amplifier's integrated passive device includes a capacitor structure connected between a node of another capacitor structure and a ground potential. This configuration improves power efficiency and linearity by optimizing load modulation and harmonic termination in the peaking amplifier path. The system is designed for high-frequency applications, such as wireless communication, where efficient power amplification with minimal distortion is critical. The capacitor structure in the peaking amplifier's passive device helps manage impedance and harmonic content, enhancing overall amplifier performance. The design ensures proper load modulation between the main and peaking amplifiers, which is essential for achieving high efficiency and linearity in Doherty amplifier architectures. The integration of passive components reduces parasitic effects and improves compactness, making the amplifier suitable for modern communication systems requiring high performance in a small form factor.
6. The Doherty power amplifier of claim 5, wherein the first integrated passive device includes a first inductor structure and the first inductor structure is coupled between a first node of the first capacitor structure and a second ground potential node.
A Doherty power amplifier system includes a main amplifier and an auxiliary amplifier configured to operate in a Doherty configuration, where the auxiliary amplifier is activated at higher power levels to improve efficiency. The system incorporates integrated passive devices, such as capacitors and inductors, to enhance performance. Specifically, one of these passive devices includes an inductor structure connected between a node of a capacitor structure and a ground potential node. This configuration helps manage impedance matching, signal routing, or harmonic tuning within the amplifier circuit. The integrated passive devices are designed to minimize parasitic effects and improve overall amplifier efficiency, linearity, and bandwidth. The amplifier may be used in wireless communication systems, such as base stations or mobile devices, where high efficiency and linearity are critical. The inductor structure's placement and coupling to the capacitor structure ensure proper signal integrity and power handling across different operating conditions.
8. The Doherty power amplifier of claim 1, further comprising a first bias circuit coupled to the peaking amplifier output, wherein the first bias circuit includes a first bias feed line and wherein the first integrated passive device includes a first fundamental frequency resonator coupled to the first bias feed line and the first fundamental frequency resonator includes a first capacitor and a first inductor connected in parallel.
A Doherty power amplifier system includes a carrier amplifier and a peaking amplifier, where the peaking amplifier is configured to operate in a saturated mode. The system also includes an integrated passive device that combines multiple passive components into a single structure. This integrated passive device includes a fundamental frequency resonator connected to a bias feed line of the peaking amplifier. The fundamental frequency resonator consists of a capacitor and an inductor connected in parallel, forming a resonant circuit that filters or stabilizes the bias signal at the fundamental operating frequency. The integrated passive device may also include additional resonators or passive components to support other functions, such as harmonic tuning or impedance matching. The design aims to improve efficiency and linearity in power amplification by optimizing the peaking amplifier's bias and load conditions while reducing circuit complexity and size.
9. The Doherty power amplifier of claim 8, further comprising a second bias circuit coupled to the carrier amplifier output, wherein the second bias circuit includes a second bias feed line and wherein the second integrated passive device includes a second fundamental frequency resonator coupled to the second bias feed line and the second fundamental frequency resonator includes a second capacitor and a second inductor connected in parallel.
A Doherty power amplifier system includes a carrier amplifier and a peaking amplifier, each with an output coupled to a load through a combining network. The system further includes a first bias circuit coupled to the peaking amplifier output, where the first bias circuit has a first bias feed line and a first integrated passive device. This device includes a first fundamental frequency resonator connected to the first bias feed line, comprising a first capacitor and a first inductor in parallel. Additionally, a second bias circuit is coupled to the carrier amplifier output, featuring a second bias feed line and a second integrated passive device. The second integrated passive device includes a second fundamental frequency resonator connected to the second bias feed line, which consists of a second capacitor and a second inductor in parallel. These resonators are designed to filter or stabilize the bias signals at the fundamental frequency of the amplifier, improving efficiency and performance. The parallel capacitor and inductor configuration in each resonator allows for precise tuning to the desired frequency, ensuring optimal operation of the Doherty amplifier. This design addresses challenges in maintaining stable bias conditions and minimizing harmonic distortion in high-power amplifier applications.
12. The amplifier of claim 11, wherein the first capacitor structure includes a plurality of capacitors formed in the first integrated passive device and each capacitor in the plurality of capacitors is a metal-insulator-metal capacitor.
This invention relates to integrated passive device (IPD) technology, specifically addressing the need for compact, high-performance capacitors in radio frequency (RF) and microwave applications. The invention describes an amplifier circuit incorporating a first capacitor structure formed within an IPD, where the structure comprises multiple capacitors. Each capacitor in this structure is a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) type, which provides high capacitance density, low parasitic effects, and excellent high-frequency performance. The MIM capacitors are integrated into the IPD, enabling a compact and efficient design. The amplifier circuit leverages these capacitors to enhance signal integrity, reduce noise, and improve overall system performance. The use of MIM capacitors in the IPD ensures reliable operation across a wide frequency range, making the amplifier suitable for modern communication systems, including 5G and beyond. The integration of multiple MIM capacitors within the IPD allows for flexible circuit design, supporting various tuning and filtering requirements. This approach minimizes the need for external components, reducing cost and complexity while maintaining high performance. The invention focuses on optimizing the amplifier's passive components to achieve superior electrical characteristics in a space-efficient manner.
13. The amplifier of claim 11, wherein the second integrated passive device includes a third capacitor structure and the third capacitor structure is coupled between a first node of the second capacitor structure and a first ground potential node.
This invention relates to amplifier circuits with integrated passive devices, specifically addressing the need for improved signal conditioning and noise reduction in electronic systems. The amplifier includes a first integrated passive device and a second integrated passive device, each contributing to the overall performance of the circuit. The first integrated passive device comprises a first capacitor structure and a second capacitor structure, where the first capacitor structure is coupled between an input node and a second ground potential node, and the second capacitor structure is coupled between the input node and an output node. The second integrated passive device includes a third capacitor structure, which is connected between a first node of the second capacitor structure and a first ground potential node. This configuration enhances signal stability and reduces unwanted noise by providing additional filtering and grounding pathways. The use of integrated passive devices allows for compact and efficient circuit design, improving overall system performance while minimizing component count and board space. The invention is particularly useful in high-frequency and high-precision applications where signal integrity is critical.
14. The amplifier of claim 13, wherein the first integrated passive device includes a first inductor structure and the first inductor structure is coupled between a first node of the first capacitor structure and a second ground potential node.
This invention relates to amplifier circuits with integrated passive devices, specifically addressing the challenge of improving performance and integration in high-frequency or high-performance amplifier designs. The amplifier includes a first integrated passive device, which is a first inductor structure, connected between a first node of a first capacitor structure and a second ground potential node. The first capacitor structure is part of the amplifier's input or output matching network, and the first inductor structure provides impedance matching, noise reduction, or filtering functions. The second ground potential node may be a different ground reference than the primary ground, allowing for improved isolation or noise reduction. The amplifier may also include additional passive devices, such as resistors or additional inductors, to further optimize performance. The integration of these passive components within the amplifier reduces parasitic effects and improves overall efficiency by minimizing external component connections. This design is particularly useful in radio frequency (RF) and microwave applications where compact, high-performance amplifiers are required.
17. The amplifier of claim 16, further comprising a second bias circuit coupled to the carrier amplifier output, wherein the second bias circuit includes a second bias feed line and wherein the second integrated passive device includes a second fundamental frequency resonator coupled to the second bias feed line and the second fundamental frequency resonator includes a second capacitor and a second inductor connected in parallel.
This invention relates to amplifier circuits, specifically carrier amplifiers used in radio frequency (RF) applications. The problem addressed is improving amplifier performance by managing bias signals and reducing unwanted harmonic frequencies. The amplifier includes a carrier amplifier with an output and a first bias circuit coupled to this output. The first bias circuit has a first bias feed line and an integrated passive device containing a fundamental frequency resonator. This resonator includes a capacitor and an inductor connected in parallel, which filters the bias signal to suppress harmonics and stabilize amplifier operation. The invention further includes a second bias circuit coupled to the carrier amplifier output. This second bias circuit also has a second bias feed line and a second integrated passive device with a second fundamental frequency resonator. Like the first, this resonator consists of a second capacitor and a second inductor connected in parallel. The parallel configuration of the capacitor and inductor forms a resonant circuit that selectively passes the desired bias frequency while attenuating higher-order harmonics, enhancing amplifier efficiency and linearity. The integrated passive devices are designed to be compact and compatible with modern semiconductor fabrication processes, ensuring cost-effective implementation. This design is particularly useful in RF power amplifiers where harmonic suppression and stable bias conditions are critical for performance.
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May 26, 2020
December 6, 2022
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